The Doctor danced to River's side and surveyed her. "Where are we now?" He asked. She raised an eyebrow and said "I just escaped from Atraxe again. Last saw you when you came to my cell. You had mentioned something about a little girl…?"

"Ah, yes… can we not talk about that right now?"

"Whatever you wish, my love."

"This… is why you're my favourite." He tapped her on the nose and she smiled.

They were perfect for each other, a match in every single way. When he was angry, she could calm him; when she wanted to murder him, he could make her fall in love; when he was squeamish about harming a creature, her trigger-happy tendencies could take eleven Silence in a minute. Seeing River that day, on Churno made his dark insides squirm with a titillating, yet nostalgic delight. She was as much a piece of him as he was a piece of her.

They searched until they could find a place to halt. They half leaned, half sat against the cliffs of Churno, overlooking an active volcano. Almost back to back, but at the same time, side by side.

"Now tell me, my bespoke psychopath, just how you got out of the prison with the highest security in the universe for the …what … seventh time, now is it?"

She observed his oddly inquisitive demeanor and answered with the only answer she knew to placate him. "Hallucinogenic lipstick; they fall for it every time."

He nodded, simply and stared off into the lava below. "You know… you never really told me exactly how that works –do you have to kiss them?"A look of utter disgust spread across his face.

"I can promise you, I have yet to find a single man in the universe who can kiss as well as you, Doctor."

"That's better… wait what?" River chuckled. She took his hand in hers, both glad for a moment of surrender.

The Doctor was well aware of the fact that his wife knew how to slap him back into shape, but she understood him completely. There was no fear of judgement or condemnation where River Song was involved, and at the current moment, the Doctor could not have been more grateful of the fact. Amy Pond may have been the first face his face saw and Rory may have been the last centurion, stuck in the Pandorica for two millennia, but when it came to acceptance, only River knew when the right time to persist was and when was the right time to back off.

"You've got that face on again, Doctor."

"What face?" He patted his head down, just to make sure he hadn't regenerated and wasn't aware of it.

"The she's hot when she's clever face."

He laughed. "I see what you did there." She laughed as well.

"Do you miss me, my love, when you're off flying in your magic blue box? When you're off seeing the stars and saving planets, do you ever think, I wish I had River Song right now?"

"There isn't a moment when the thought is not on my mind."

"And you're not just saying that?"

He turned to face her, staring hard down into her manic hazel eyes. "Cross my hearts. And I give my permission to the universe to spite me if I lie." The stare he gave her was so sincere and genuine that she was forced to look away. His twin cerulean eyes almost emanated anger, such was the earnestness of his gaze.

"And where do I lay, Doctor? On your list of importance. Am I up there with Gallifrey and Rose, or do I stand amongst your beloved K-9?"

"K-9 was a friend, and Rose was my girlfriend –a very close one, mind you, but you, River Song, you are the woman that married me. Not since Gallifrey, have I had anyone like you."

They stood in silence until the Doctor smiled again in her direction. "You put on a brave face, my dearest River Song, but just you remember, I am a safe place for your insecurities. Don't you doubt that."

"I trust you with my life. Don't you doubt that."

"How can I? How many times have you jumped into a vast expanse of space, waiting on me and my Tardis to show up and rescue you? I'm a scapegoat, not a lifeboat."

"And when would I let you be my scapegoat, hmm?"

"Never; you're too sentimental. Honestly, sometimes I think we're married." Her eyes lit up with laughter. He loved that she got him, she understood him. Be it her psychopathic mentality, her outrageous upbringing, her lineage and Time Lady DNA, or that they were just star crossed lovers. Her laughter made her more beautiful than she normally was and the Doctor was overwhelmed.

"River?" His eyes penetrated her. River got the message.

He moved in close towards her. She wrapped one hand around his head, the other around his shoulder and moved in close in response. Her breath on his lips. His breath on hers. The kiss of a Gallifreyan was not something to be taken lightly. Sure, his previous regenerations may have messed around a little, but when a Time Lord means it, and both parties can feel it, it's like an eruption, a supernova, a star being born. When a Time Lord means a kiss, he sells his soul.

They pulled apart, just staring into the other's eyes, not daring to look anywhere else for fear of losing what flame they had kindled.

"I love you, Melody Pond." He looked around awkwardly for a second, as if shocked that those words had exited his mouth, but when he analyzed it, he realized that he meant it whole-heartedly. He recentered his gaze back on her.

"I love you, Doctor." There were no smiles from her, when she said this. The Doctor had known this to be a fact since the moment he met her back in the Library. She had always been his River and she always would.

They remained in their embrace and sunk down onto the ground. They cuddled; just sat and cuddled. "I like this, no monsters, no aliens. Not flying around from planet to solar system, being the hero. I'm not a hero. I'm a mad man, and I'm here… Just me and my psychopath…

You know, you're much prettier not covered in cell gunk." He toyed with River's golden locks. "And you've the greatest hair in all of Time and Space."

"I'd say genetics, but being a Time Lady and all, it's more regeneration. But what can I say? I try." She then turned on him, "And you, have the worst fashion sense in all of space and time. What, with the fez, bowtie and that ridiculous scarf."

"Bowties are cool." The Doctor fixed his in semi-mock insult. The image of her and Romana together surfaced in his mind. He shuddered.

"Whatever you say, my love"

The sun in the cloudy sky began to set, giving way to a Van-Gogh-esque atmosphere.

River checked her watch. She looked at the Doctor. She looked back down at her watch. "What, are you late for another date?" He kid. She chuckled, "Just wait and see." As if on cue, the ground beneath them began to rumble. Mount Helias in front of them started to crackle; small red angry globs of molten rock began to spew in all directions. The Doctor swallowed in anticipation that sat up straight. Madmen and their psychopath spouses tend not to fear for their lives as most would when facing an active Volcano. The Time Lord, being the child at heart that he was, clapped and laughed with delight.

"Doctor River Song, I could kiss you! Again!"

"I thought you'd like it."

A giant ball of inferno whizzed past them and landed just beyond the Tardis.

"The Tardis!"

"Don't worry; I fixed its shields last time. You really ought to take better care of your home, you know."

"She loves me just fine. Always tinkering with my Tardis."

A yet again more massive fireball flew into the air as Helias got more and more irate. It exploded and rained its ashes all over like fireworks. The remnants that fell back into the volcano sizzled and crackled, spewing little sparks of heat everywhere.

"Ahoh! River, this is fantastic!" He was like a little boy on Christmas morning… a more, hyper-intelligent, married little boy in a Time Lord's body. River, although just as eccentric in her own ways, was as equally amused by the destructive power of Mount Helias as the Doctor's reaction. She bathed in the all the glory of her surroundings. A seismic shake that sent the couple hurtling churned the molten rock to the surface, which spilled over the side of the mount to the northeast of them. The Doctor clapped his glee out once more.

He glanced at her with a manic glint in his eye, "Let's do this more often."

"We'll call it date night," she smiled.


River lay, in ecstasy with her surroundings. The mountain spewing out its deluge in all its ferocity was still not the biggest explosion to her that night. That kiss was one of the more memorable ones, but she had been there before. What stuck with her was that her Doctor had told her that he loved her. The first honest thing she had known about the Doctor was that he was irrevocably in love with her, and that was worth more than all of the stars in the universe. She had tried to kill him that day in Berlin, but even when he was on his death bed and none of his regenerations could save him, he did not spite her. She could see it in his eyes that he would have taken that poison an infinite number of times before he would have let pain come to her. He loved her before she knew him, but what hurt was he had never had verbalized it. She knew that there was still a part of him that was in love with Rose Tyler, but that was his past. He had made it abundantly clear to her that day that she was his one and only. His River. His Melody Pond.

She was entertained by his juvenile elation. Her mad man, in many ways, was like the man who had never grown up. She supposed he would have, but one could not live for thousands of years and keep their sanity. She may have only been half of his life span. She knew that. There comes a point in time when one cannot live with all they've witnessed with an adult mind. In her own ways, River was as broken as the Doctor. He may have lost his planet, but she had lived half of her life in the clutches of the Silence, being manipulated to their to Mme. Kovarian's murderous intentions. She was the one faced with almost causing the fabric of space-time to disintegrate if she would not murder him. He may have seen many die, but she had had a thousand deaths when he could not remember her. She had to stand beside Amy and Rory Williams for centuries, waiting to tell them 'look at me, I'm your daughter. I'm Melody Pond.'

Her thoughts wondered to the child the Doctor was so reluctant to talk about. Her heart ached. In a mere second her thoughts towards the Time Lord holding her in his arms turned vile. She envisioned herself back at the edge of the Universe saying to her mother and father 'Amy, Rory… it's me, Melody Pond. I'm your daughter. I'm all grown up Mummy, Daddy. Look at me.' Instead of regarding her in the love and compassion and sorrow they had, they would turn and glare. 'You're not my baby. You're just a lunatic with an ego complex. Go away; don't you dare show your face to us again.' The thought burned through her like a dark cavity that she couldn't fathom. The simple idea of such a rejection tore through her. She would persist, she knew she would –like she persisted for the Doctor, but to have been rejected only once (not even a multiple of times) would sting like the plasma from the Tesselecta.

River wondered what it would be like to have a child. The vision of that curly golden haired baby with the diamond eyes popped into her mind again. She had escaped the Atraxe for two reasons that day. One was to spend the day flirting with her husband… the other was because she couldn't shake the thought of the Time Baby. Now introduced, she wanted it desperately, as she wanted the Doctor, and when Dr. River Song wanted something, she knew how to get it.

The Doctor and her and this child –she hadn't idealized a name, but she was leaning towards Aishaelle –would travel planet to planet. No monsters and no death. Environments and situations like there on Churno. Excitement galore, mystery to explore and forever more adventure. For what was a descendant of Gallifrey without a little action? The child would be as much as a lunatic as her two parents, but with all of the dark, seductive, secrecy removed. Aishaelle would be a genius, a visionary, an actress, but overall, completely off her rocker and breathtakingly adorable. An angel encased in the body of a miniature Time Lady. Aishaelle.

River decided to take the bull by the horns. "Now that we've had a small break from reality, my love, I think it's time to talk about that child. What's her name? What's she like?"

The Doctor tensed up, all of the sudden uncomfortable. He shifted his position. He turned to glance at his wife and ran his hand through his hair like he always did when he had something to explain.

"She's a mystery. I don't know anything really. I know she's smart and dull –like, flat, like she ate a Cyberman. She saved Amy, and for that, I am forever grateful, but… I don't like her –no I don't know what to make of her." He looked around as if he had admitted a giant secret that he had held back for a very long time and was waiting for assurance, to know he wasn't a bad boy.

"How long has she been around?"

"Three days and two …" He sat up erect. She could see the gears in his mind going to furious work. He looked concerned. "Oh no. No, no, no, no, no!" He let go of her and jumped up to a standing position, balanced on his feet for a split second, then furiously pivoted to face his Tardis half a kilometer away. He started to pace over to it; River stood up after him, watching, worried.

"What's wrong, Doctor?"

"Girl. Ponds. Tardis. Come along."

Before River had gotten the opportunity to ask him to form coherent sentences, she heard the voice of her mother yelling out from the Tardis. "Doctor!"

"Amy!" He cried. He raced towards the Tardis with River hot on his heels. They stormed that half kilometer in thirty seconds. He looked Amy square in the eye, asking "the girl?" Amy vehemently nodded.

"Wife," The Doctor grabbed River by the wrist and dragged her inside at sprint speed. Amy followed right behind until they came to one of the guest bedrooms. Rory was rushing to and fro with an assortment of first aid equipment, but that wasn't what had caught her attention.

What she saw inside the Tardis stopped River's heart. All she could think of was little Melody Pond, stuck inside the astronaut suit for a near eternity, waiting to strike the Time Lord dead. She held onto her husband as if her life depended on it. For all the time she had spent wanting to kill him, and for the love that he had given her. For all the times she had called him a child. This was certainly no child, no child that she had seen. This was another Melody Pond, stuck in the clutches Mme. Kovarian.

The little girl looked up at her with tortured eyes. "Mummy?" she asked.

River let go of the Doctor and went to kneel beside the child.

"I'm here sweetie, I'm here."

River held out her hands and the shaking child took them with a tear rolling down her face. Hurt like hell like River knew she was, the child let River draw her into an embrace. This was no Aishaelle. The child in River's arms scared her to death. She clung onto the wraith-like figure that just shook as she sobbed into her breast. Her sweaty dirty-blonde curls fell into River's face. Regenerate, damnit, regenerate! She thought desperately. Take all the pain away!

"Dad?" Rory swooped down to his daughter's side. "What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know. I've tried everything. I can't figure it out."

"Did you try the Tardis scans?"

He looked at Amy, then the Doctor. "No." He said. "We've done a blood test, to see if she was the Doctor's or not."

"Is she mine?"

"The Tardis doesn't have your DNA on record, but she wouldn't be anyone else's."

"She called me Mummy."

The child sobbed and sniffled in her arms, weak.

"What she needs right now, Melody, is to sleep. We can talk about this later." River agreed and Amy came to help the child and her up. The girl just looked at Amy and then back at River.

"Come on, sweetie, do what Rory tells you, Rory know best." The child hesitantly stood up, but would not follow Amy. To coax the child, River stood as well and started to the door. The child followed. The trio left the room to The Doctor and Rory.

The two Pond women knew the Tardis like the back of their hand. They found a small green bedroom with a twin size bed and an armchair. They helped the child to bed, taking off her shoes and helping her into a large T-shirt left over from one of the Doctor's previous companions. The girl was almost infantile; she was so extremely distraught and wouldn't let River leave.

"Are you okay here, River?"

She nodded and Amy left the room. River sat by the girl's side, just soothing her. She thought she had calmed the child at first, she had stopped crying and only dry sobs were left, but when Amy left the room, the child began to cry furiously again. River was hurt, seeing herself too much in that small body. She couldn't, however, guess at what she was so upset about. Unsure what else she could do, she let the child cry herself to sleep. She got up to leave, but found she was struggling with turning her back on the girl that had just captured her heart. She lowered herself into the armchair and realized she had gotten into more than she had bargained for that day. She herself probably fell asleep.


Amy had re-adjourned with the Doctor and Rory in the Pond's bedroom. "So…uhmmmm…what was that?" They were all shocked. Amy and Rory were less traumatized by what had happened to the child then they were the first time, but it came as a huge surprise to the Ponds and the Doctor by the way the child and River seemed to click.

"Yup, that's River." Was all the Doctor could say. He fixed ran his hand through his hand then fixed his bowtie. The Ponds just observed each other.

"Okay, well, I was sleeping. Not sure that's going to happen again tonight" Rory commented.

The Doctor silently agreed. He ran the events of the past few days in his mind. Meeting the strange silent girl. Having her and the Tardis tell him he's a father again. Scorned by an obstinate, angry River. Returning to the Ponds and a spiteful child. Travelling to the beautiful silver planet. Losing the Ponds and guarding the child from droning aliens. Saving Amy from an infection and Rory from the Ren'nok. Having his and Rory's death reversed. Meeting River on Churno. Telling her he loved her. Witnessing the child and her bond so instantly.

He didn't like that River was still down the hall with her. He didn't want anyone to love that child better than he could, least of all his wife. He could understand Amy and Rory, they didn't have a Time Lord's burden and they had lost their child. River had sorrows of her own, but not that. She hadn`t lost a child…had she? The little girl was reciprocating the affection. In a strange sort of way, he was almost jealous. Until he remembered the little girl calling her 'Mummy'. He knew in his hearts that River would be only the one to mother another one of his children.

She had shown inherent maternal instincts that he didn't know she possessed. He was surprised. He felt even worse of a man than he had before. He wondered why his paternal instincts hadn't kicked in. The empty black hole re-opened in his chest.

He and the Ponds sat around for a while, but in his misery he got antsy again. He walked down the hall to where Amy said she and River had taken the child. He peered inside through the door. He saw his wife slumped out on an armchair and turned to leave her in peace.

"Hello sweetie…" The Doctor turned back around to see his wife staring at him with dopey eyes.

Crouching beside her, he took her hand. She smiled at him.

"Do you remember when I first met you?" She asked him.

"Yes"

"When I was Mels? And I kidnapped you and Mum and Dad and took us back to Berlin?"

"Yes."

"I regenerated, and I was ever so egotistical. I said to you 'I'm all yours sweetie.' And you said?"

"'Only River Song gets to call me that.'"

"I didn't know who that woman was. But what did I do next?"

"You poisoned me."

"I did. And you almost died. But then I found out who River Song was. You are a good man, Doctor. I fell in love with you that day, because when I was sent to murder you, you did not hate me, in fact, you already loved me." I love you Melody Pond.

She continued. "And when I was forced to murder you again, Doctor?"

"When you almost destroyed the universe?"

"I did. Because I knew that I'd suffer, more than anyone else."

The Doctor shifted his position, then, decided it would be much more comfortable to join River in the chair.

"That night we got married on the top of a pyramid controlled by the Silence. We kissed, and the universe restarted. What was it that you said to me in the astronaut suit as I was forced to lift my arm and shoot the Tesselecta you?"

"You are forgiven. Always and completely forgiven."

"That's right Doctor. I tried to kill you twice. But you had decided not to hold it against me. You loved me and you forgave me, even though I was to be your murderer. Tell me, has this little girl–" she nodded towards the bed. "—tried to kill you? Has she hurt you in any way? Has she even touched you? No. She came to you with open arms, and I'll be damned if you're going to mistreat any child of mine. Not after all I've been through."

River's words stung. The Doctor recoiled.

"Right, so stop being such an arse." She smiled at him. She's truly gone round the bend he thought. Her smiling lips found his for the second time that day. He pulled her close and cuddled her. They slept in that armchair.